Year-End Lists

Ryan Gilbey: The Best Films of 2021, as published by New Statesman

[see also 2012]

• Quo Vadis, Aida?
  Jasmila Žbanić
• First Cow
  Kelly Reichardt
• The Filmmaker's House
  Marc Isaacs
• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Ham on Rye
  Tyler Taormina
• Dear Comrades!
  Andrei Konchalovsky
• The Father
  Florian Zeller
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• The Killing of Two Lovers
  Robert Machoian
• Spencer
  Pablo Larraín

New Statesman: The Best Albums of 2021

• 30
  Adele
• Inside (The Songs)
  Bo Burnham
• Carnage
  Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
• Screen Violence
  Chvrches
• Blue Banisters
  Lana Del Rey
• Absolutely
  Dijon
• Sweep It Into Space
  Dinosaur Jr.
• Certified Lover Boy
  Drake
• New Long Leg
  Dry Cleaning
• Life's a Beach
  Easy Life
• Happier Than Ever
  Billie Eilish
• For Those I Love
  For Those I Love
• Montero
  Lil Nas X
• Animal
  Lump
• As The Love Continues
  Mogwai
• Star-Crossed
  Kacey Musgraves
• Collapsed in Sunbeams
  Arlo Parks
• Prioritise Pleasure
  Self Esteem
• Daddy's Home
  St. Vincent
• Red (Taylor's Version)
  Taylor Swift
• Retrograde
  Third Son
• Call Me If You Get Lost
  Tyler, The Creator
• private LIFE
  Virginia Wing
• Van Weezer
  Weezer
• Blue Weekend
  Wolf Alice

New Statesman: Best Books of 2021

[see also 2023]

Non-fiction

• The Aristocracy of Talent

  How Meritocracy Made the Modern World
  Adrian Wooldridge
• Being You

  A New Science of Consciousness
  Anil Seth
• Burning Man

  The Trials of D. H. Lawrence
  Frances Wilson
• Geopolitics for the End Time

  From the Pandemic to the Climate Crisis
  Bruno Maçães
• Real Estate

  A Living Autobiography
  Deborah Levy
• Silent Earth

  Averting the Insect Apocalypse
  Dave Goulson
• Shutdown

  How Covid Shook the World's Economy
  Adam Tooze
• One of Them

  An Eton College Memoir
  Okwonga Musa
• Postliberal Politics

  The Coming Era of Renewal
  Adrian Pabst
• Orwell's Roses
  Rebecca Solnit

Fiction

• Intimacies
  Katie Kitamura
• No One Is Talking About This
  Patricia Lockwood
• little scratch
  Rebecca Watson
• A Lonely Man
  Chris Power
• The Netanyahus

  An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family
  Joshua Cohen
• Klara and the Sun
  Kazuo Ishiguro
• My Phantoms
  Gwendoline Riley
• Open Water
  Caleb Azumah Nelson
• Treacle Walker
  Alan Garner
• Sterling Karat Gold
  Isabel Waidner

Abeni Jones: Ten of the Best Albums Released by Queer and Trans Artists in 2021, as published by Autostraddle

• Collapsed in Sunbeams
  Arlo Parks
• Sling
  Clairo
• Jubilee
  Japanese Breakfast
• in defense of my own happiness complete
  Joy Oladokun
• Valentine
  Snail Mail
• if I could make it go quiet
  girl in red
• Home Video
  Lucy Dacus
• Little Oblivions
  Julien Baker
• The Turning Wheel
  Spellling
• KICK ii
  Arca

Honorable Mentions

• Model Citizen
  Meet Me at the Altar
• im hole
  aya
• Doomin' Sun
  Bachelor
• Once Upon A Time
  Chika
• Super Monster
  Claud
• Near Life Experience Part One
  L Devine
• Near Life Experience Part Two
  L Devine
• Butch Spring
  Sara Renberg
• Who Am I?
  Pale Waves

Susannah Gruder: Best Films of 2021, as posted to Letterboxd

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019]

1. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
2. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
3. Listening to Kenny G
   Penny Lane
4. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
5. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
6. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
7. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
8. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
9. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman
11. France
    Bruno Dumont
12. In the Same Breath
    Nanfu Wang
13. Parallel Mothers
    Pedro Almodóvar
14. Acasa, My Home
    Radu Ciorniciuc
15. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
16. Anne at 13,000 ft
    Kazik Radwanski
17. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
18. All Light, Everywhere
    Theo Anthony
19. The Salt of Tears
    Philippe Garrel
20. President
    Camilla Nielsson
21. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski

Carl Wilson: Top 10 Albums of 2021, as published by Slate, alphabetical by artist

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

• Little Oblivions
  Julien Baker
• Cavalcade
  black midi
• Searching For The Disappeared Hour
  Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson
• New Long Leg
  Dry Cleaning
• Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found
  Myriam Gendron
• Jesup Wagon
  James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet
• Hey What
  Low
• When Smoke Rises
  Mustafa
• Soberish
  Liz Phair
• Call Me If You Get Lost
  Tyler, The Creator

25 more of note (alphabetical by artist)

• Voyage
  ABBA
• The Million Things That Never Happened
  Billy Bragg
• Spanish Model
  Elvis Costello
• Intra-I
  Theon Cross
• Home Video
  Lucy Dacus
• We're All Alone in This Together
  Dave
• Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology
  Willie Dunn
• Remember Her Name
  Mickey Guyton
• By the Time I Get to Phoenix
  Injury Reserve
• Uneasy
  Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey
• Play With the Changes
  Rochelle Jordan
• This Spring: Songs by Veda Hille
  Nicholas Krgovich
• Queens of the Summer Hotel
  Aimee Mann
• Mayan Space Station
  William Parker
• Second Line
  Dawn Richard
• Outside Child
  Allison Russell
• The Other Shore
  Amir ElSaffar and Rivers of Sound
• Crocodile Teeth
  Skillibeng
• Black To The Future
  Sons of Kemet
• Anastenaria: Thracian Firewalking Ritual Music
  various artists
• Meu Coco
  Caetano Veloso
• Rap?
  Tierra Whack
• Pop?
  Tierra Whack
• R&B?
  Tierra Whack
• Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine
  Wild Up
• When I Hit You — You'll Feel It
  Leslie Winer
• Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'
  Lainey Wilson

Albumism: The 100 Best Albums of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
   Little Simz
2. Immigrants
   Nitin Sawhney
3. Blue Weekend
   Wolf Alice
4. Promises
   Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders / London Symphony Orchestra
5. No Gods No Masters
   Garbage
6. Black To The Future
   Sons of Kemet
7. Mother
   Cleo Sol
8. Ocean to Ocean
   Tori Amos
9. Collapsed in Sunbeams
   Arlo Parks
10. Mood Valiant
    Hiatus Kaiyote
11. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power
    Halsey
12. Screen Violence
    Chvrches
13. Future Past
    Duran Duran
14. I've Been Trying To Tell You
    Saint Etienne
15. Pink Noise
    Laura Mvula
16. Nine
    Sault
17. Star-Crossed
    Kacey Musgraves
18. Black Acid Soul
    Lady Blackbird
19. Soberish
    Liz Phair
20. Blackest Blue
    Morcheeba
21. Blood
    Juliana Hatfield
22. Californian Soil
    London Grammar
23. Happier Than Ever
    Billie Eilish
24. King's Disease II
    Nas
25. Subconsciously
    Black Coffee
26. We're All Alone in This Together
    Dave
27. Crooked Machine
    Róisín Murphy
28. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
    Marina
29. Firebird
    Natalie Imbruglia
30. Son
    Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy
31. Flying Dream 1
    Elbow
32. Ultramarine
    Wesley Joseph
33. We Are
    Jon Batiste
34. Hi
    Texas
35. Little Oblivions
    Julien Baker
36. Aspects
    STR4TA
37. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows
    Damon Albarn
38. Sweet Inspiration
    Kate Ceberano
39. Medicine at Midnight
    Foo Fighters
40. When Smoke Rises
    Mustafa
41. Queens of the Summer Hotel
    Aimee Mann
42. Dawn
    Yebba
43. Chemtrails over the Country Club
    Lana Del Rey
44. Sgt Culpepper
    Joel Culpepper
45. 30
    Adele
46. Bad Meditation
    Mara TK
47. Nothing Feels Like Everything
    Scrimshire
48. How Many Times
    Esther Rose
49. Sound Ancestors
    Madlib
50. Not Your Muse
    Celeste
51. Hunter and the Dog Star
    Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
52. Ignorance
    The Weather Station
53. Sour
    Olivia Rodrigo
54. If Words Were Flowers
    Curtis Harding
55. Call Me If You Get Lost
    Tyler, The Creator
56. The Ultra Vivid Lament
    Manic Street Preachers
57. Flock
    Jane Weaver
58. Bring Backs
    Alfa Mist
59. Daddy's Home
    St. Vincent
60. Pins and Needles
    Natalie Hemby
61. Somewhere Different
    Brandee Younger
62. Jubilee
    Japanese Breakfast
63. What We Call Life
    Jordan Rakei
64. The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers
    Valerie June
65. In Praise of Shadows
    Puma Blue
66. Home Video
    Lucy Dacus
67. In These Silent Days
    Brandi Carlile
68. Friends That Break Your Heart
    James Blake
69. Yellow
    Emma-Jean Thackray
70. New Long Leg
    Dry Cleaning
71. Bloom
    Rosie Frater-Taylor
72. Time Flies
    Ladyhawke
73. And Then Life Was Beautiful
    NAO
74. The Golden Casket
    Modest Mouse
75. Valentine
    Snail Mail
76. An Evening with Silk Sonic
    Silk Sonic
77. Heart-Shaped Scars
    Dot Allison
78. Pressure Machine
    The Killers
79. Stand For Myself
    Yola
80. I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L.A.
    Dean Wareham
81. Back of My Mind
    H.E.R.
82. Crawler
    Idles
83. An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
    Cassandra Jenkins
84. Love Will Be Reborn
    Martha Wainwright
85. Tell Me What You Miss The Most
    Tasha
86. still slipping vol. 1
    Joy Orbison
87. Hey What
    Low
88. Path of Wellness
    Sleater-Kinney
89. Alpha
    Charlotte Day Wilson
90. As The Love Continues
    Mogwai
91. Good Woman
    The Staves
92. Pandora's Playhouse
    Sananda Maitreya
93. Laura Stevenson
    Laura Stevenson
94. Drones
    Terrace Martin
95. Coral Island
    The Coral
96. I Don’t Live Here Anymore
    The War on Drugs
97. Memories Of Love
    Myles Sanko
98. Times
    SG Lewis
99. Sob Rock
    John Mayer
100. Simple, Sweet, and Smiling
     Kacy Hill

The A.V. Club: The Best Films of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The French Dispatch
   Wes Anderson
2. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
3. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
4. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
5. A Hero
   Asghar Farhadi
6. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
8. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
9. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
10. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
    Questlove
11. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
12. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
13. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
14. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
15. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
16. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
17. Annette
    Leos Carax
18. About Endlessness
    Roy Andersson
19. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg
20. Drive My Car
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
21. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
22. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
23. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
24. Days
    Tsai Ming-liang
25. Zola
    Janicza Bravo

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• A.V. Club: A.A. Dowd: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Carlos Aguilar: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Caroline Siede: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Charles Bramesco: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Jesse Hassenger: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Katie Rife: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Leila Latif: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Mike D’Angelo: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Noel Murray: The Best Films of 2021
• A.V. Club: Vikram Murthi: The Best Films of 2021

Girish Shambu: 2021 Faves, posted with a link to an essay or interview for each

[see also 2018 • 2017]

• Rose Plays Julie
  Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
• Reservation Dogs
• A Night of Knowing Nothing
  Payal Kapadia
• Shared Resources
  Jordan Lord
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• Terra Femme
  Courtney Stephens
• Beans
  Tracey Deer
• Hacks
• Mariner of the Mountains
  Karim Aïnouz
• Sort Of
• The DocYard, a film series with a virtual component, curated by Abby Sun

Little White Lies: The 30 Best Films of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012]

1. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
2. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
5. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
6. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
7. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
8. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
9. Annette
   Leos Carax
10. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve
11. Memoria
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
12. Petite Maman
    Céline Sciamma
13. Days
    Tsai Ming-liang
14. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
15. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
16. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills
17. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond
18. Rose Plays Julie
    Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
19. Ear for Eye
    debbie tucker green
20. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
21. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
22. Limbo
    Ben Sharrock
23. It Must Be Heaven
    Elia Suleiman
24. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder
25. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
26. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
27. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott
28. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
29. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
30. Azor
    Andreas Fontana